Recovering from torn meniscus

[DISTANT RUMOURS]

I found out recently I have tears in my outer and inner meniscus.

I had pain skating and training and got MRI's. So I'm 100% sure.

The problem is, I'm almost 39.

The doctors want to do surgery but I'm afraid I'll never skate again after that.
You know how some dotcors can b/ "You're 39 still playing on a toy, time to quit".

What advice would you give to someone with torn meniscus?

Go for surgery? Or try exercises.

I'm scared

[layzieyez]

I had meniscus debridement done in my right knee when I was 37-38. It wasn't much of an improvement to be honest. My orthopedic surgeon was one of those that was very much against me (or any adult) skateboarding. Physical therapy did more to improve my knee pain.

[botefdunn]

I was in exactly your situation (same age, shredded meniscus) except I also had a torn acl. Felt really depressed about the whole thing but got surgery, went hard on the physio, and 3 years later I'm almost back to full confidence, jumping down stuff a little, and in better shape than I was before and with more stamina. Don't be scared, embrace the process, it will all work out with hard work.

[GardenSkater77]

I hurt my knee when I was 21 but never had it looked at. I found that doing leg curls and squats along with bike riding and swimming really helped me get back on my board.

I think before you have surgery you need to see if you can get better on your own. I’m not discounting @botefdunn advice but there is no need to rush to surgery. Good luck.

[biaherl]

I would DM Dr. Kyle Brown like a man if I was in your sitch. If you give them $5 on Patreon you get a ton of info

https://oldfriendsandco.com/pages/old-friends-fitness

https://www.patreon.com/oldfriendsfitness

https://vimeo.com/492629525

[botefdunn]

I hurt my knee when I was 21 but never had it looked at. I found that doing leg curls and squats along with bike riding and swimming really helped me get back on my board.

I think before you have surgery you need to see if you can get better on your own. I’m not discounting @botefdunn advice but there is no need to rush to surgery. Good luck.

100% try exercises first. In my case there was no choice, I couldn't walk, my acl was ruptured and the meniscus was shredded. If you do wind up needing and having surgery though, your chances of skating again are very good so don't let your mental health decline from worrying about it.

[Urtripping]

I would DM Dr. Kyle Brown like a man if I was in your sitch. If you give them $5 on Patreon you get a ton of info

https://oldfriendsandco.com/pages/old-friends-fitness

https://www.patreon.com/oldfriendsfitness

https://vimeo.com/492629525

He posted these exercises on his insta not long ago. Even if you didn't have a bum knee, these would benefit your skating!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CRSbwNIA0mm/?utm_medium=copy_link

https://www.instagram.com/p/CRFnMrKFnW5/?utm_medium=copy_link

I'm dealing with this stuff at 27 and feel fortunate that I caught it early(ish). I HATE being in the gym but what @botefdunn said is true, embrace the process and know that it's all going to making skating easier and safer for you.

Edit: whether you get surgery or not, I think that mindset can be helpful. It's helped me!

[GumOnMyGrip]

Meniscal tears will rarely heal on their own. Cartilage in the knee is mostly avascular and does not usually have enough blood flow to heal over time..
Variables include the location of the tear, the size of the tear, and the shape of the tear. Ask you doctor about details.
Be conservative first and exercise in a pain free range.  At minimum you will strengthen the muscle around the knee to help support. It will also help to strengthen before.surgery if you need it. Sometimes you get lucky and the tear kind of squishes back into place and will feel better for a while. Eventually it will catch up to you, sorry
Recovery from meniscal debridement isn’t that bad. Do your PT , minimize swelling post op, and recovery should be 6 months max. Mentally may take a bit longer.
I had a tear removed over 20 years ago and no problems. I’m also a licensed physical therapist assistant for the past 12 years. Don’t sweat it- a full comeback is possible it’s just going to take time.

[disclosed]

I got the surgery 10 years ago. meniscus ripped and got stuck between the joint so coulnt stretch my leg anymore. waited 2 months for the surgery and took me about 4 months after the surgery to get back to normal. i did go to physio therapy during those months. overall was out of it for about 6 months. havnt had any issues afterwards so a full recovery.

but i was 17 when i got the surgery so dont know how reliable my experience is.

[S.]

I found out recently I have tears in my outer and inner meniscus.

I had pain skating and training and got MRI's. So I'm 100% sure.

The problem is, I'm almost 39.

The doctors want to do surgery but I'm afraid I'll never skate again after that.
You know how some dotcors can b/ "You're 39 still playing on a toy, time to quit".

What advice would you give to someone with torn meniscus?

Go for surgery? Or try exercises.

I'm scared

I had the same issue when I was 18 and I was back skating about 5 months after surgery. The doctor cut out the torn part in surgery. I have been pain free ever since. I am 36 years now.

My advice is whatever route you decide to go: get advice from legit professionals who know their shit and have experience working with athletes. I live in Germany and most of the physical therapists and doctors basically work with the aim of getting an adult person well enough to work in an office. A person who is used to working with athletes has a very different approach. Most BMXers and skaters in my local scene go to the same surgeon when they have knee issues. He exclusively opperates on knees and knows his shit. He also sees that you get enough appointments at the Professional rehab place they work with, after surgery. The surgeon and the rehab center also work with professional athletes of the local football team.

Most meniscus operations are way easier to rehab than acl surgeries. They are also less painful. I think if you get a good surgeon and put in enough work at a professional rehab place you can definitely come back from that type of injury even with 40 years of age.

It is worth it to work with professionals who operate and rehab athletes!

[PlugSkullcandy]

I hurt my knee when I was 21 but never had it looked at. I found that doing leg curls and squats along with bike riding and swimming really helped me get back on my board.

I think before you have surgery you need to see if you can get better on your own. I’m not discounting @botefdunn advice but there is no need to rush to surgery. Good luck.

I had meniscus problems two years ago (don’t know the exact terms in English since I am French sorry) and I back the message I quoted above. Went through a lot of pain, I slipped in a staircase while helping friends moving their fridge. It was painful but a few days later it was OK I was skating. Not 100% but OK. Then few weeks later I was directing a music video in some woods and I slipped on wet dirt, and spent the day working with knee pain. It lasted for 2 weeks. For exemple on Monday I would have no pain and the Tuesday would be awful. Also had pain at night. So I went to see different doctors. I should have my knee checked before because I am diabetic and this was two months prior to my wedding haha.

I eventually went to see a doctor specialized in sports. Did a few medical exams (scanners etc). He told me surgery was not the priority. And I did exercises for like a year, lot of swimming and biking too. Also wore a knee brace.

As of today I have no problems.

The big downside thing is I somehow lost the « muscle memory » for my kickflips since I spent 10 months
of the board ! Still hard to get them. Felt like I was on injury reserve.

Maybe try to see a few doctors, this is what I did but the French healthcare system is more permissive.

Also we are all different and knees are fucking complex.
But yeah I would to recommend to see a doctor that works with athletes etc. They know their shit.

Good luck !

[Uncle Jeffrey]

Expand Quote

I found out recently I have tears in my outer and inner meniscus.

I had pain skating and training and got MRI's. So I'm 100% sure.

The problem is, I'm almost 39.

The doctors want to do surgery but I'm afraid I'll never skate again after that.
You know how some dotcors can b/ "You're 39 still playing on a toy, time to quit".

What advice would you give to someone with torn meniscus?

Go for surgery? Or try exercises.

I'm scared

[close]

.

My advice is whatever route you decide to go: get advice from legit professionals who know their shit and have experience working with athletes. I live in Germany and most of the physical therapists and doctors basically work with the aim of getting an adult person well enough to work in an office. A person who is used to working with athletes has a very different approach.

This x1000

Search, search search, for a professional that's right for you. Here in America that can be a nightmare, my boss just paid out of pocket because he got some rare knee condition and all the people on his plan were telling him to rest for 6 months, no hard cycling, and stay off it... If it doesn't get better after that, then maybe surgery... He's a serious cyclist, that plan put him at risk of not doing what he loves for a year, that's so fucking insane.

So he traveled a few hours away, paid serious cash out of pocket and had an actual professional who understands athletes, specifically cyclists break down WHY he originally had the issue, and all the things he should do daily to rectify it. Saw immediate results.

Likewise, my wife, the strongest human I know, is super flexible and tough. She got tboned by a truck on her bike, spent a week in the hospital with 3 pelvic fractures, skull fracture, etc. Luckily no surgery required. But when she did pt, they treated her like a damn 90 year old, they basically wanted to spend the entire month just slowly getting her to a casual walking pace. Didn't push at all. She would basically come home and spend hours researching and doing pt herself.

[biaherl]

What did you decide?

For some reason when I read meniscus I thought Achilles. I don't remember what episode it is on but Justin Eldridge talks about how he needed surgery but got a shot instead and now he's skating again. I don't know what shot it was though

I started the knees over toes program on Friday and I feel fucking great. I have patellar arthritis in my right knee and I broke my left knee when I was 14. I'm 47 and 80 pounds over weight but I'm loosing weight lost 30

I would recommend the program once you're done with therapy. Discount code FRESHSTART2021 and it's $25 for the first month but if you take some screen grabs you won't need to pay again. I'm going to keep paying

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqt-0WYwyGw

https://www.atgonlinecoaching.com
https://kneesovertoesguy.medium.com